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5 STEPS PROCESS

The process involved in purchasing custom cabinetry for your project is a little more involved than just dropping by our showroom, making a few decisions and then writing a deposit check. There are many decisions that have to be made before we can attempt to provide you with an estimate; there is the not-so-small matter of the design, not to mention that there is always a schedule that must be met. We do this process everyday so we know what needs to happen and when it needs to happen, but most of our clients do not. To address this, let’s take a few minutes to define the process to let you know what we will need from you, what you can expect from us, and when all these things need to take place.

Purchasing custom cabinetry is very different than purchasing pre-manufactured cabinets from a home center or design center. Our objective here is to define our 5-step process for you. Going from a blank sheet of paper to a finished product in the custom cabinet world is a very complicated process, but it’s one that should be enjoyable to everyone involved. With a little extra planning and a lot of communication between all the parties involved, we can accomplish this goal.

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Step 1 ~ Design Consultation
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The first step is to gather enough information from you to be able to provide you with an estimated project cost. This step needs to be done at our showroom since we will need you to choose a door style, wood specie and finish for each room of cabinetry. To do this, you may need to bring some sample items with you to the showroom such as your floor covering samples, backsplash samples, countertop samples, paint color chips, etc. If you have not yet picked out some or all of these other items, that is fine; many people prefer to start with the cabinetry and pick all of these other items based on the cabinetry selections. If you have employed the services of an interior decorator or designer, you may want to bring your design professional with you to assist in these selections. We welcome the opportunity to work with your design professional and just ask that you notify us prior to the design consultation that your design professional will accompany you to this meeting.

During this meeting we will discuss your ideas of what you would like your cabinetry to look like and what features you would like to incorporate into the cabinetry. Typically we start with a set of architectural blueprints, so we will need you to bring a copy with you that you can leave with us. Ideally these plans will not have been reduced in any way, as that may distort the scale. If you are not working with an architect, or you do not have blueprints, or your project does not require blueprints, we simply ask that you provide us with a simple sketch like the one shown here.

This sketch does not have to be perfect, so please don’t be intimidated by it. We simply need enough information to determine the overall floor plan of the area and the location of any fixed objects like doors, windows, etc. Our primary objective in this meeting is to develop a good understanding of your design ideas and to answer any questions you might have concerning those ideas.

For this meeting to be as effective as possible and to be able to move forward to the Estimate phase, you will need to provide us with the following items:
● Blueprints or sketches
● Appliance specifications, if applicable or available at this time
● List of features you would like included in your cabinetry
● Any samples you may need to assist you in your selections
It would also be very useful if there are budgetary requirements or constraints that you let us know those at this point in the process. There is no practical benefit in us designing a $30,000.00 kitchen for your project if your kitchen budget is $18,000.00. Once an estimated cabinetry budget has been established, we will assist you with your material and door style selections to fit within the budgetary constraints.

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Step 2 ~ Estimate
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All True32 Custom Cabinetry affiliates provide free estimates. These estimates are very detailed and will provide you with the information you need to make a fully educated decision about your custom cabinetry requirements. We are more than happy to provide several alternate pricing scenarios, so please do not hesitate to ask. If you think you might want to upgrade to an applied mold door, upgrade the drawer box, change from slab to raised panel ends, or any other change, addition or subtraction, we will be more than happy to accommodate those change requests (this is the time to do so, not after the manufacturing process has been put into motion).

Typically our estimates are sent to you via e-mail as a PDF attachment, but we can fax or mail your estimate if needed. If you prefer face to face meetings, then we will be glad to schedule a meeting in our showroom to go over your estimate, and even run a few “what if” scenarios while you are here if that would be beneficial to you. Our sophisticated estimating software makes if very easy to change wood species, finishes or door styles, and get an alternate project cost.

To move forward from the estimate phase of the process to the design phase, we will need to get your appliance specifications if we have not already received them. If you have not picked the appliances yet, we will need you to do that before we can proceed with the design. If you have already picked out your appliances and they were not supplied to us at the Design Consultation, then please have your appliance supplier fax a copy of the appliance specifications to us as soon as possible. The things we will need from you to move forward to the design phase are:
● Signed copy of the last page of your estimate
● A check for the design fee shown on the estimate
● Appliance specifications if we have not yet received them
Once we have all these items, we will schedule a time to visit your project site to field measure any areas that will require cabinetry. We will then produce a preliminary design and schedule a time to meet again in our showroom to go over the design.

By the way, you signing our estimate is not a contract authorizing us to manufacture your cabinetry; you are only agreeing to pay us to field measure and design your project. Once we have produced the drawings and ultimately a proposal, if you choose to purchase your cabinetry from us the design fee will be part of the proposed price. If you choose to purchase your cabinetry elsewhere, then you are free to take the drawings, which you paid for, and shop them with as many cabinetmakers as you please.

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Step 3 ~ Design Review
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As soon as we have received your signed estimate and your check for the design fee, we will schedule a time to come and field measure your project using our advanced laser measuring device to assure accuracy. During the time we are field measuring your project, we will typically identify any conflicts with any plumbing, electrical or HVAC items and inform the appropriate person (site supervisor, project manager, builder, etc.). We will then produce a design using our advanced design software that will allow you to see what your cabinetry will look like before we ever manufacture it.

The next step will be for us to schedule a design review meeting at our showroom. At this time we will present you with our drawings and review them wall by wall and room by room. We will red line the drawings with any additions, changes, or subtractions and note any discrepancies that are discovered. If there are no discrepancies, additions, changes or subtractions, or once they have been dealt with, we will then proceed to produce a detailed proposal for your project. As with the estimate, this proposal can be e-mailed, faxed or mailed to you, or we can meet at our showroom to review it in detail depending on your preferences.
Once you have reviewed the proposal, and everything meets with your approval, we will then need the following to schedule your project for manufacturing:
● Signed copy of the last page of your proposal
● A check for the deposit amount shown on the proposal
● A target delivery date for each phase of your project

Once we have all these items in our possession, we will then review our current manufacturing lead-time (it ranges from 4 to 12 weeks depending on the number and size of the current projects in progress), which will determine the actual delivery date for each phase of your project. We will then notify the appropriate people of our proposed dates for delivery and installation. We will coordinate the delivery and installation with the appropriate site supervisor or the builder. We will attempt to open a line of communication between HWC Custom Cabinetry and the site supervisor so they can notify us of any delays that may affect the delivery and installation schedule. We will also provide the site supervisor with mechanical drawings of all cabinetry involved in the project to be used to answer any questions by any of the other trades on the project.

At this point of the project we will visit the jobsite a second time to double check our drawings against the actual field conditions. Typically if there are any errors on our part, or any other trade’s part, we will discover it while double checking all of the dimensions in each and every room. If there are any errors or discrepancies, we will notify the appropriate person immediately.

The next step for us is to engineer your project, which simply means that we will review every detail of the design and check for any potential issues that may arise from the design. This includes things like making certain that the knob on a drawer on one wall of an L-shaped corner will not interfere with a drawer, door or appliance on the opposing wall. This is a painstaking and tedious process, but it is one of the most important aspects of providing custom cabinetry. Each and every project is unique, and we are not installing stock cabinets in 3″ increments that will allow the cabinet supplier to substitute a different sized cabinet if one does not fit properly. We have to get it right the first time.

Once the project has been engineered, we then begin placing orders for the materials required to produce your cabinetry. All True32 Custom Cabinetry affiliates practice Lean Manufacturing. One aspect of this methodology means we do not stock large quantities of raw materials. Each affiliate only orders what is needed, which frees manufacturing space to be used for what it was intended to be used for (manufacturing and not storage), which also preserves precious cash flow.

The manufacturing philosophy of HWC Custom Cabinetry is that we only use top of the line materials, finishes, and components to manufacture our cabinetry. We will not compromise on this, primarily because we have to warranty our product, but secondarily because it is just not the right thing to do. To be competitive with other manufacturers that do compromise on the materials used, we have to be extremely diligent to drive out every form of waste that we can, and the elimination of excessive stocks of raw material is just one example of our continuous pursuit of eliminating waste.

Another aspect of this philosophy is in the manufacturing process itself; we are constantly looking for ways to remove waste from every process. We are constantly evaluating ways to eliminate any unnecessary handling of parts from our processes, always looking at how we do what we do and trying to find better ways to do it. We are resolute in our conviction that we need to remove the opportunity for mistake from each of our processes, and to set the next person up for success. This mindset is obvious when you visit any of our affiliate plants; you will see operations manuals with supporting technical drawings throughout every True32 plant, which supports our deep desire to get it right the first time, removing the waste involved in re-works and defective product. Our three golden rules are as follows;
● Keep it Simple Socrates
● Remove the opportunity for mistake from the process
● Set the next guy up for success
Our deep seated beliefs in the validity of the theory of constraints provides each of us with a system of ongoing change. The theory of constraints is based on a very simple belief that every system that is made up of dependant events (i.e., any manufacturing environment is nothing more than a series of dependant events) and is limited by the weakest link in that system. Like a chain, our manufacturing systems are only as strong as our weakest link. We understand that to improve anything we must change it, but we keep in mind that all change is not necessarily good change. As a group, we are constantly analyzing our systems, looking to identify our weakest link (constraint) and to manage it to its utmost. Our throughput is determined by this weakest link, and once we recognize this and accept it, then we can become effective managers by focusing the appropriate amount of our attention on the thing that limits our progress.

Our dependence on the thinking processes provided by the theory of constraints is what makes our affiliates unique in the service portion of our industry. It is very uncommon for any trade or sub-contractor in the construction field to have a good track record when it comes to on-time delivery, but our affiliates deliver on-time every time year in and year out. As a group, we have an indisputable record of on-time delivery. We do not make promises we cannot keep, which simply means that when we say we are delivering your cabinets, we really will be there.

Once all of your cabinetry, or the first phase of your cabinetry, is completed, we will contact you to schedule the delivery. Depending on the terms extended, you will typically need to pay a second payment prior to the actual delivery. Please refer to your proposal to see if this is the case. If it is, you will be contacted by someone at HWC Custom Cabinetry to arrange for this payment to be made. Delivery is made with our own company vehicles, and each cabinet is blanket-wrapped to insure that your cabinetry will not get damaged while being transported from our manufacturing facility to your jobsite.

This is when your vision or dream starts to become a reality. The installation process can take anywhere from a few hours to multiple days depending on the quantity of cabinets involved and the complexity of the project. This portion of the project requires extreme accuracy and highly skilled technicians to do it well. Our installers are some of the best in the industry and have the very best tools and equipment available. Our installation technicians install your cabinetry with the same skill and care that we created your cabinetry with.

All True32 Custom Cabinetry affiliates utilize the latest technology when it comes to functional hardware to assure you of the very best fit and finish available, providing a level of accuracy that is second to none. We sincerely thank you for taking the time to review our process. I hope that this 5-step process has been explained in a clear and thorough manner, but if not then please do not hesitate to call or email us with any questions or concerns you might have.

TRUE 32 SYSTEM

The True32 Custom Cabinetry system is unlike any other approach in the industry. Our systematic approach provides predictability in Form and Function, providing our clients with unsurpassed value. The system is based around cabinet heights that are in increments of 32mm (1- 1/4″). This approach accommodates all of the functional European hardware utilized in cabinetry (i.e., drawer guides, hinges, etc.). By engineering your cabinetry this way, we remove the tedious trial and error process of manually locating all of the functional hardware, thus providing you, the client, with a better cabinet value. We think you will prefer our pre-engineered solutions over pre-manufactured home center cabinets, but don’t take our word for it – compare the following features to any other cabinet available, and see if you don’t agree that True32 Custom Cabinetry blends technology with Style and Fashion, providing the best choice for your storage solutions.

Exterior

This highly visual portion of your cabinetry is of the utmost importance. Not only is it the part you have to look at all day every day, it is also the part that takes the most abuse; so it has to be attractive to look at, and it absolutely has to be durable.

Tight 3mm reveals between doors and drawer fronts are just one of many indicators of the quality and craftsmanship that goes into our cabinetry.

Top Mount Crown Molding allows us to attach the crown mold by screwing down to the top of the cabinets rather than nailing to the face of the cabinet. This eliminates the nail holes that have to be filled, which seldom match the cabinet finish. Another unique feature of these types of moldings is that they are removable; if during the construction process a molding is damaged, we can simply remove the damaged piece and replace it.

Bottom Mount Light Rail allows us to attach the light rail by screwing up to the bottom of the cabinet rather than it being an integral part of the cabinet, or face nailed to the cabinet. This again eliminates any nail holes, but at the same time provides a recessed area for lighting and a very sophisticated look.

Conversion Varnish Finish is the finest finish product that can be used on Kitchen, Bath and Built-In Cabinetry. These two-part acid catalyzed finishes are not only extremely hard and scratch resistant, but they also provide excellent moisture resistance for those high humidity areas like baths and around any spill prone preparation and clean-up areas in the Kitchen. We offer thousands of fashion finish combinations, including glazing, antiquing, and several levels of distressing.

Doors and Drawer Fronts are made from premium grade lumber or composites, either at our facility or at one of several premium door suppliers across North America. By also offering door styles provided by high quality door suppliers, we are able to offer literally hundreds of door styles and configurations.

Applied End Panels and Decorative Elements allow these highly visual pieces to be replaced in case of damage, minimizing the cost because we only have to replace the component and not the entire structure or cabinet.

Interior

This is often the most overlooked aspect of the cabinet, but we feel strongly that the utility of the cabinet is just as important as the appearance of the cabinet.

Storage is the actual point of owning cabinetry in the first place, so your cabinetry should allow for effective utilization of the space available. Our FULL ACCESS cabinetry provides up to 20% more storage inside the cabinetry and inside the drawers of the cabinetry than the typical modular face frame cabinet you see at your local home center or design center.
Material Choice is up to you. We offer extremely durable thermally-fused melamine interiors in both white and hard maple. Melamine does not require you to line your cabinets with any type of shelf liner; it is the same surface you find on a laminated countertop, and it is extremely scratch-, dent- and moisture-resistant. We also offer pre-finished veneer core plywood interiors in either birch or hard maple (availability determines which species we use). These hardwood panel products are manufactured and inspected after being sanded to a smooth finish. Next, they are transported to a finish line where they are coated with a sealer, cured under Ultraviolet light, then sanded and topcoated with a poly-acrylic based finish, and cured again under Ultraviolet light to a durable, highly chemical- and scratch-resistant finish.

System Drawer Boxes are an excellent way to not only get the very best product for the intended purpose, but they can also free up budget dollars to spend on upgrades to doors, moldings, and trim pieces to enhance the overall appearance of your cabinetry. Our first system drawer option is the Grass Zargen® Drawer, which is the absolute hands down best value in drawers. This is a 3/4- extension drawer, and it is the strongest drawer system on the market. It provides more storage space than any other drawer type and provides a smooth and quiet feel as it opens and closes. Our second system drawer option is the
Grass Nova Pro® Drawer, which is a full-extension system drawer that also has a soft close feature. This drawer is the quietest drawer available, and no matter how hard someone tries to slam a drawer, it stops just short of closing and finishes closing gently. Both of these system drawers allow for three-dimensional drawer front adjustment and preserve our old growth hardwood since the entire system drawer is made from recyclable materials.

Dovetailed Hardwood Drawers are made from solid maple or birch and are 5/8″ thick with a 3/8″ plywood bottom. This drawer is built to last, with all four corners having true dovetail joints. What you don’t see is the smooth under mount drawer slide system we use. You can read more about this drawer guide in the Functional Hardware section below.

Functional Hardware

The most likely part of any cabinet to fail is the functional hardware. Poor quality drawers, drawer guides, hinges and the cabinet finish are the most commonly cited reasons for warranty claims. We only use high quality functional hardware, all of which comes with a lifetime warranty. We never accept substitutions on functional hardware from our suppliers. This is simply not an option for any Certified True32 Custom Cabinetry Manufacturer.

Hinges are three-dimensionally adjustable and are made from all steel parts. Pivot pins are heat-treated (case-hardened) steel rather than cold-rolled steel. The hinge is also a snap-on version, which allows doors to be snapped off of the cabinet when needed without affecting any adjustments made prior to removing the door. The twist-lock feature makes it easy to remove the hinge from the door, but a more important feature is that it is the strongest method of attaching a hinge to a composite door panel available.

Drawer Guide quality is critical for longevity. This is the most used moving part of a cabinet, and if poor quality guides are used then failure is imminent. All of our drawer systems are top quality European hardware. The system drawers were discussed at length above in the Interior section, but we did not discuss the undermount drawer guide used with Dovetailed Drawer Boxes. The Elite® is Grass America’s premier line of under mount drawer slides, offering a precision roller carriage for years of dependable use. The Elite features full drawer extension for maximum use of interior space. The Grass Elite® features a sophisticated shock absorber system that slows the momentum of the closing drawer, offering a soft, quiet and easy close. The slide system requires minimal top and bottom clearances to fully utilize the fit of the drawer in the available opening. Combining innovative features with remarkable value, the Elite provides the ultimate in quality for our dovetailed drawer boxes.

Leg Levelers are not commonly used by most cabinetry manufacturers, but we believe that they are the foundation of our systematic approach to cabinetmaking. Any structure that is not based on a good foundation is likely to fail prematurely, and cabinets are no exception. Each cabinet is fitted with 4 to 6 sockets at assembly. Then we insert the adjustable leg into the socket just before we install the cabinet. These leg levelers allow us to get your cabinets perfectly level and plumb, regardless of the condition of your floors or walls. The toe kick material is then fitted to the leg levelers using a metal clip system, which allows for removal of the toe kick later if needed.

Upper Cabinet Suspension Systems are even less popular with most cabinetry manufacturers, but again, we believe that they are foundational to getting our cabinetry level and plumb. Yes, these functional hardware components add cost to the final product, but much if not all of that cost is offset by the time saved at installation. It is really the only logical way to install full-access cabinetry properly (think tight reveals). This system is composed of a steel rail that is attached to the wall, and then each cabinet is fitted with a suspension block in the top left and right corner. This suspension block has a hook that protrudes through the back of the cabinet, which is hooked onto the steel wall rail. The blocks have two adjustment screws built into them: one allows the cabinet to be raised and lowered, and the other allows the cabinet to be plumbed. Once the cabinet is secured and properly adjusted, we have color-matched cover caps that slide over the block.

Installation

High Quality Cabinetry is only as good as the installation. We are firm believers in utilizing the proper hardware to accommodate a high quality full access cabinet installation as illustrated above. In addition, we also insist on using the very best tools available. All Certified True32 Custom Cabinetry Manufacturers use a laser level for whole room installations to make absolutely certain that every cabinet is perfectly level and plumb. We also incorporate some of the latest installation tooling into this process, one fine example being a Festool circular saw. This unique piece of equipment allows us to fit fillers, end panels and toe material to less than perfect floor and wall conditions, which is almost always the case in new construction and renovations alike.

The proceeding information was all to simply say that the True32 System is unique, and that it provides you, the cabinetry user, with a better, more durable product. It also provides the manufacturer with a systematic approach that allows the management team to manage the system, and the system then manages the manufacturing and installation team members. Please accept our sincere thanks for taking time to learn about our products and processes.